From the June issue: Shortly after the financial crisis of 2008, experts worried that the market was in even worse shape than it appeared. The culprit? Thousands of stalled and vacant condo units that were being held off the market — so-called shadow inventory — threatening to add years to New York City’s real estate recovery.

In today’s improved economy, many in the industry are wondering what happened to all that inventory. With sales picking up and some new condos morphing into rentals, everyone agrees that the number of shadow units has dropped. But no one knows by exactly how much. [more]

After four years, construction wrapped up last week at Harlem Sol, the two-building project at 121 and 123 West 131st Street, between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. The development, comprised of a renovated, four-unit brownstone with 14-foot ceilings and an eight-unit, new construction building next door with views of the city skyline, is 25 percent in contract. Two one-bedroom floor-through apartments and one two-bedroom duplex are left in the brownstone, No. 121, while six units are left at No. 123, which contains studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom duplexes. TRD [more]

Peter Hauspurg, chairman and CEO of Eastern Consolidated and Daun Paris, president of Eastern Consolidated
From the June issue: Home may be where the heart is, but what if it’s also in the workplace? This month The Real Deal takes a look at couples who work in the real estate industry.
While such pairings aren’t the norm in the business, there are high-profile examples like “Jvanka” — that is, husband-and-wife Jared Kushner, principal of Kushner Companies, and Ivanka Trump, a vice president at the Trump Organization.
Trump has reportedly said that having a shared background in real estate has been a boon to her relationship with Kushner, as she’s keenly interested in his descriptions of work machinations that others might find dull — a sentiment echoed by everyone TRD spoke to with a partner in the industry.
Aside from having a common passion, what makes couples like Trump and Kushner tick?
Here’s what five of them had to say. [more]

By Katherine Clarke and Lauren Elkies

Terra Holdings, parent company of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, is launching a new development marketing company and Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of new development marketing at Halstead Property, has been selected to head it up, according to an internal memo leaked to The Real Deal. A public announcement is imminent, according to a spokesperson for Halstead.

Kliegerman will not be leaving Halstead. Terra Development will market development projects represented by both Brown Harris and Halstead, of which Kliegerman will become president.

Though the memo dates back to April, the move has remained relatively under the radar. When contacted by The Real Deal late yesterday afternoon, Halstead would not disclose any information about the move, but said a public announcement would be released within the next 48 hours or so. [more]

From the May issue: If there’s one thing that residential real estate experts agree on, it’s that there’s demand for new development condos in New York City. But that demand doesn’t mean that everything is hunky-dory in the new condo market again.
In this month’s Q & A, The Real Deal talked to new development brokers, heads of new development marketing companies and industry analysts about the strength of the new development market and the challenges that still exist.
They all said there are encouraging signs in the sector and exciting new projects — like the Stahl Organization’s Laureate on the Upper West Side and the Related Companies’ MiMa on 42nd Street — that could be bellwethers for the market.
But buying a new condo remains complicated for buyers. [more]

From the May issue: In the depths of the recession, when it was easier to get a reservation at Per Se than to sell a multimillion-dollar apartment in New York City, stories abounded of real estate developers scrambling to cover their costs by leasing out unsold condo inventory. It wasn’t a perfect solution — it’s notoriously difficult to get buyer financing in a part-condo, part-rental building — and in most cases, the strategy was never intended to be permanent. Two years later, as many of those original leases expire and the market begins to reheat, some developers are once again ready to sell, reuniting these once-fractured condos. [more]

From the 2011 Data Book: It was another slow year for new condo starts in New York City in 2010, though condo projects that were already underway and
on the market saw their fortunes brighten somewhat in their ability to lure buyers.
New condo units submitted to the Attorney General’s office (a measure of projects first entering the development pipeline)
dropped 28 percent citywide from the year prior, already a dark time for new construction.
The total number of units in 2010 amounted to less than one tenth of the number of projects in the pipeline during the boom in 2006. Stalled construction sites also increased citywide. “Especially for the next 12 to 24 months, you’re still going to see
a relatively small amount of [new development] supply,” said Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of Halstead Property Development Marketing. Click on the link at the top of the site or here to buy the 2011 Data Book. TRD [more]

Halstead’s Stephen Kliegerman and the Ellison

The Ellison, a new five-story condominium in West Harlem, has received its certificate of occupancy, Halstead Property Development Marketing announced today, signaling that construction is complete and the building is approved for immediate occupancy. The Ellison — at 2255 Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard at 133rd Street — features 10 one- and two-bedroom condos ranging in size from 820 to 1,228 square feet, and in price from $569,000 to $799,000. Many of the units feature terraces and patios, in addition to a 1,000-square-foot common rooftop garden and terrace overlooking Manhattan. According to Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of Halstead, buyers will be eligible for a 25-year 421-a tax abatement, and those who sign before Jan. 31, 2011 will also receive six months of free common charges, which range between $600 and $800 a month. TRD [more]

5th on the Park and Stephen Kliegerman

Fifth on the Park, the Harlem condominium that saw a landmark Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act case earlier this year, has switched up its marketing team after selling 51 percent of its 160 units since launching sales in April 2007. Halstead Property Development Marketing will become the exclusive sales team for the development, located at 1485 Fifth Avenue between 119th and 120th streets. Prices there range from $489,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $1.74 million for a four-bedroom apartment. Stephen Kliegerman, executive director for Halstead Property Development Marketing, was not immediately available for comment.

Yoav Haron, CFO with Artimus Construction, a partner with the development team, Uptown Partners, said in a statement that the team has “been very pleased with the progress made up until this point.” [more]

As expected, the slew of high-end residential developments surrounding the High Line have been capitalizing on the buzz surrounding the new elevated park in their marketing campaigns, and one year after it’s opening, brokers say that strategy is paying off. “A good percentage of our calls are from people literally on the High Line,” said Millie Perry of Stribling & Associates, who is marketing 456 West 19th Street, a new condo located across 10th Avenue from the High Line, which currently stretches from Gansevoort to 20th streets. According to Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of Halstead Property Development, which is selling +aRt on 540 West 28th Street, the average price per square foot for new condos along the High Line climbed to $1,351 in 2009 from $1,088 in 2006. When the High Line’s second phase opens next spring between 20th and 30th streets, Kliegerman is hoping +aRt will help continue that trend. [Post] 

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